Im about to pull my hair out. Im trying to figure out which way to go with my HSR 350 and cant make any solid decisions. I want to keep it one day and then ditch it another. I want at least 400hp out of this engine and still be streetable and FUN to drive. Which path should I take to get me to my goal. I never go to the track either, just for SLP day. I want a torque engine. I have my mind almost set on the AFR 190's but the cam is what is killing me. like i said I want torque. I also plan on spraying this engine down the road and I am not building the bottom end. it will remain stock for now. I also have a blow by problem that I have to figure out before anything is done. it started after I put the HSR in so,, can anyone give me some tips on what I should do or change or replace and consider doing first. the engine has 15K miles on it and I have about a $2500 budget. also have all mymods in sig to play with too except the nitous

 

AFR 195's CNC ported,68cc chambers,Springs upgrade

Crane Gold 1.6 ratio full roller aluminum rockers

Comp Cams XR276HR 224/230 duration @. 050, .535/. 544 lift (with the 1.6's)

EDIT: N/M on converter and gears. I see you already have that covered.......


and you said you want to spray so id keep it conservative with stock pistons say 100-125shot. and DEFF. get into prom burning

 

If it were me, I would figure out my "blow by problem" and then go from there. IMO whats the point of spending a bunch of money on an engine that is not in its best state of being.

How bad would you say this problem is?

AFR 190 or 195.
Cam sounds good. Could try the Nitrous grind to compliment your juice, won't hurt anything when not using nitrous...

 

The 190's will match up better to the intake and be better for the low end TQ you're looking for. I'd go for a CC305 cam, 114 LSA - boost and N20 like a wide LSA camshaft.

Your mention of a blowby problem scares me, I wouldn't spray it... it's bound to get worse. You may want to address that issue before you spend another dime on performance parts.

Also, how are you going to get past smog? When I lived in Mass. they still had smog inspections.

 

the blow by problem WILL be fixed before I do anything to this engine. I just have to find out why it has blowby. I took the intake off so a compression check is out of the question. How much would I loose by going to a 195 AFR head? I ask because sometimes deals come up on the boards or ebay. and when I say spray it., I mean only when i need too. I dont want this engine to be fast just on nitrous. as for prom burning, I have NO time to learn that stuff. Ill end up just havig it tuned on a dyno from one of those good shops out there. as for smog test, Im just gonna play it as I go. if I dont pass then Ill start slipping the $50's under the table

 

I doubt you would ever notice a difference between the 190s and the 195s. They flow very similarly and the ports are very close. So if you see a deal on either, jump on it...

 

Things like this can cost double the projected amount. Your heads are over half of your budget. See where this is going? Pray that your blowby isn't a ring problem.

 

A-f**king-men to that...

My last engine problem cost me almost 2000, not my camaro, thankfully...

 

well I hope the blowby isnt a ring either. I cant see why it would be the rngine has 15K on it and has never had nitrous on it. Could a bad valve seal cause blowby. and if it is a ring problem, whats something like that cost to have fixed and can I tell if its a ring by just removing the heads? Wouldnt my oil have a gas smell to it if a ring was bad?

 

Bad valve seals don't cause blow by because during compression and power, hopefully , the valves are closed...

If you can put a leak down tester on each cylinder and try to determine if one cylinder is the culprit. You could also do the famous pull plug wires while the engine is running test...

If you do have bad rings, you won't be happy. The pistons will need to come out of the block in order to change them. You may not have to pull the engine, but the oil pan will need to come off. I don't know if stock pans have any more clearance, but my Canton pan would not come off while in the car. I had to jack the engine way up to remove the pan enough to slip in a gasket. You will have to go higher.

Hopefully you won't need rings!!!

 

well, the engine is coming out on sunday. its just resting in there on the motor mounts now. All connections are disconnected. I cannot do a compession test now. I will try a leakdown test once its on the engine stand. If I take as much off the block as possible, how much would a shop charges to replace the rings?

 

Its hard to say what a ring job would run. Not to much I guess on loose engine.

I would suggest doing your own if you think you can. You can get good ring set for about $100. A ring file is about $50 or so from internet tool suppliers, or you can use a flat file if you are careful. A ring expander is about $10 and a ring compressor is about the same from a local auto parts store. So there you have less than $200.

Of course if you get rings already gapped it will cost less.

File fitting rings takes a few hours but its pretty straight forward.

Typical shop rates here are about $70/hr and up for a good shop and it will be a few hours for file fit rings...